1. Field of the Invention
The objective of the invention is a mobile station and especially its user interface as well as a method for the input and display of information in a mobile station. The mobile station means, in this context, any mobile station that can be connected to a communication system such as a mobile station that can be connected to a cellular system. A connection to a communication system means here a wireless connection such as a connection that is achieved by a radio interface.
2. Brief Description of Prior Developments
A mobile phone and a fixed network telephone have previously been used mainly for transfering speech, but nowadays the mobile stations of the communication systems are used more and more also for transferring and processing data such as character data. Additionally the mobile station can be used for controlling service functions that are offered by the communication system. These more developed functions set special requirements on the user interface of the mobile station.
FIG. 1 shows a prior known mobile phone. The user interface of a mobile station 10 usually comprises a numeric keypad 11, function keypad 12 and a display 13. The numeric keypad comprises number keys (0-9), which are used for inputting to the mobile station the telephone number, into which a connection is desired. In addition the numeric keypad generally comprises a few symbol keys. The function keypad is used for activating functions of the mobile station or the communication system. FIG. 1 also shows an earpiece 14, a microphone 15 and an antenna 16 of the mobile station.
A mobile station 10 is used in e.g. the following way for forming a connection. The station is connected into an active mode with a key of the function keypad 12, after which the mobile station creates a connection to a base station that is further connected to other parts of the mobile network. After this one uses numeric keys 11 of the mobile station for inputting a subscriber code such as a telephone number of the subscriber that one wants to have connection to. The input number is shown on the display 11 of the mobile station in order to check that the number is correctly input. After this one presses a connection key, which activates the mobile station to transmit the subscriber code information to the base station. Then the mobile network forms a connection to another mobile station that corresponds to the selected subscriber code.
In addition to ordinary calls it is possible to use a mobile station for transferring also short messages of a text form, telefax messages or data especially in digital cellular systems. The data to be transmitted or received can be processed in the mobile station or in a computer that is connected to the mobile station. Since the mobile station usually has an efficient processor, it is possible to make the input, processing and storing functions of simple text messages in the mobile station. While the mobile stations further develop, they can be used for further information processing in future, and thus they will serve also as computers. The mobile stations will also be used as mass media, in which case public text information such as news is sequentially transferred into the mobile station.
When transferring text information one should have as much as possible of text shown in the display so that processing even a long text would be easy. However, in the mobile stations of the prior art the amount of text that is fitted into the display is very small, because the main part of the front panel user surface is used for the keypad, earpiece and microphone, and thus the area that remains usable for the display is small. Since only small amounts of text information is suited to the display, it is difficult to go through and process large amounts of information, because the information must be transferred to the display in small parts. Then visualizing the information as a whole is also difficult.
Transmitting the text information requires a possibility to input letters and special symbols in addition to inputting just numbers. As the mobile stations are made as small as possible, the number of keys are minimized. This is due to the fact that if the number of keys would be large, the size of the key buttons and their mutual distance would be so small that the use of the keypad in an ordinary speech call mode would be difficult. In a speech call mode the mobile station is often used with one hand only, and therefore it should be easy to press the buttons without a danger of activating the nearby buttons by accident. So if the front panel of the mobile station would be equipped with a button for each alphabet and number character, the size and distance of the buttons would be so small that using the keypad for ordinary speech calls would be very difficult.
Inputting text is solved in the prior art in such a way that the keys that are reserved for the numerals are also used for inputting letters. For this purpose there are three letters marked into each numeric key in addition to the number. Inputting the letters is done in the following way:
Pressing a specific function key of the mobile station sets the keypad into a mode for inputting letters. After this, when a number/letter key is pressed for the first time, this causes the first letter that is marked on the key button to transfer into the memory an the display of the equipment. If the key is quickly pressed for a second time, the letter in the memory and in the display is changed into the second letter that is marked on the key button. If the key is still quickly pressed for a third time, the letter in the memory and in the display is changed into the third letter that is marked on the key button. If after pressing the key one waits for a predetermined time, the letter shown on the display is determined to be the input letter, and the mobile station starts then to wait for the next letter input. This way it is possible to input any of the letters that are marked on the key button by pressing the key one, two or three times, wherein the time between the pressings must be less than a predetermined time length. After this one has to wait at least the said time before inputting the next letter.
The prior known solution that was explained above has many disadvantages. Firstly, inputting one letter requires in average pressing a button twice. Secondly, one must wait for at least a predetermined time between inputting two letters. In concequence the writing becomes very slow. Additionally it is not quite easy to estimate the time between the pressings, and therefore there may become a lot of mistakes while writing. There is also a problem with this solution that writing both numbers and letters into the text is very difficult, because it requires changing the input mode of the mobile station alternately into numeric input mode and into letter input mode. Additionally it is not at all possible to input special symbols in this solution.
As was mentioned above, it is possible to use a computer that is connected to the mobile station for processing the texts to be transferred. The user interface of a computer usually comprises a alphanumeric keyboard and a large display. In this case the mobile terminal equipment for transferring speech and data comprises a mobile station and a laptop computer. However, carrying and using this kind of a combination is very troublesome, because the equipment is constructed of two separate devices that are connected with a cable. And the carriable computers are also relatively large and heavy. One has to reserve a lot of table space when using the combination. Additionally starting the programs of the computer requires time.
The need of processing text information is increasing also in the fixed terminal equipment. Several services are offered via telephones, where selections are carried out with the keypad of the telephone. However, the numeric keypad is quite restricted as an input means. Additionally there are several services, such as banking services, which would require a large display for showing the received information, such as a statement of account. One prior art solution would be a combination of a telephone and a computer, where the text information would be transferred with the computer, and the telephone is used for a speech connection. However, this would be too large and too expensive equipment in many cases.
Based on what is explained above one can see that it is not possible with the prior art to implement an easy-to-use and inexpensive mobile station for transferring both speech and text/data.
The purpose of the invention is to create a mobile station, which has an easy-to-use user interface and with which it is possible to avoid the described disadvantages of the prior art.
One idea of the invention is that the terminal equipment according to the invention has two functional modes. The first functional mode is preferrably used, when the terminal equipment is used for transferring speech, and the second functional mode is preferrably used, when the terminal equipment is used for processing or transferring text information or other data.
The user interface according to the present invention is preferrably performed in such a way that the terminal equipment comprises first display means and second display means, wherein in the first functional mode the information is presented on the first display means and in the second functional mode the information is presented on the second display means. The second display means are preferrably larger than the first display means, and the second display means are preferrably covered in the first functional mode. As the terminal equipment is then used for transferring speech information in the first functional mode, the whole front surface of the equipment can be used effeciently for the first display and input means that are used in the first functional mode.
The terminal equipment according to the invention has preferrably also first input means for inputting information in the first functional mode and second input means for inputting information in the second functional mode. Then the second input means are preferrably covered in the first functional mode so that the user surface of the equipment can be efficiently used for the first input means and the first display means that are used in the first functional mode.
Let us note that the input information means here, except information that is transferred between the terminal equipment and the communication system, also e.g. the information that controls the mobile station and communication network and that is input to the mobile station.
The terminal equipment according to the invention preferrably comprises at least two parts that move relative to each other, wherein the parts have a first mutual position in the first functional mode and a second mutual position in the second functional mode. The input means and the display means can then be placed into the parts that are movable relative to each other in such a way that in the first functional mode the user surface of the equipment comprises the first input and display means and in the second functional mode the user surface of the equipment comprises the second input and display means.
The terminal equipment according to the invention is characterized in what is presented in the characterizing part of claim(s) 1 and/or 8. The method according to the inventon is characterized in what is presented in the characterizing part of claim(s) 24 and/or 25. Preferrable embodiments of the invention are presented in the dependent claims.